FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Sarah Day has been waiting for an opportunity like this.
 
When it came along on Thursday night, the Seattle Pacific senior made the most of it.
 
Day delivered a career-high seven service aces – the last of which came on match point – and the No. 24-ranked Falcons had 17 altogether as they got back on track after a first-set loss to beat Alaska Fairbanks in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball contest, 3-1
 
Scores in The Patty Center were 24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 25-18.
 
Sarah Brachvogel hammered 17 kills for the Falcons (11-2, 5-0 GNAC) who won their 10th straight match. Allison Wilks had an error-free night on the attack, finishing with nine kills and a .562 hitting percentage.
 
"We knew it had been tough to win up here n the past, and we knew we would face some challenges," head coach Jason Rhine said. "Fairbanks came out really fired up and served really aggressively. We had a chance to kind of settle down and respond."
 
A 5-foot-11 outside hitter from Monroe north of Seattle, Day had played in just 17 sets during the first three years of her career and only eight this season.
 
 

"I was a little nervous going into it, a little shaky," Day said. "But as the match kept going on, I was feeling really excited to get that opportunity and really excited to be there. One thing I've always felt really confident in is my serve. Being able to completely control that felt really good, and also being able to take some swings, as well."
 
After watching the opening set from the sidelines, Day came onto the court in Set 2, recording two kills and two aces. She had two more kills and two more aces in the third, then another two kills and three aces in the fourth.
 
In fact, not only did Day start Set 4, she had the first serve – and aced it, as SPU scored the initial two points and subsequently led the set all the way except for an 8-8 tie.
 
With the Falcons up 22-18 after the Nanooks hit an easy attack opportunity into the net, Day took over the serve. She immediately dropped in her sixth ace to make it 23-18. Brachvogel dunked a Fairbanks service return for 24-18. Day's serve on match point dipped as it crossed the net and was on the court before the Nanooks receiver could get her hand under it.
 
"I think I've always had this attitude toward serving that it's the one thing in volleyball that you can really control. No one else has any effect on what you do out there by yourself, so I think I always get after it," said Day, whose previous career high was two aces. "My serve tends to be a little more of a float, kind of a lower serve. It can get people on their toes really easily, so I've always taken advantage of that.."
 
HAD TO BOUNCE BACK
The Falcons fell into an early hole, down 10-4 in the opening set. Not only did they climb all the way back in, they built a 23-19 lead.
 
Then it was the Nanooks (7-11, 0-4 GNAC) who came back, tying it at 23-23.before sending a serve into the net and giving SPU a set point. But Fairbanks saved that one with a kill by Rilee White, came up with a combined block for a 25-24 lead, and closed it out on a kill by Ella Bines.
 
Seattle Pacific took its turn at a late comeback in Set 2. Down 20-18, the Falcons ran off three in a row to go up 21-20. Ahead 22-21, Day delivered back-to-back aces for triple set point at 24-21. The Nanooks fought off the first one, then a kill by Brachvogel leveled the match at 1-1.
 
SPU put together a 5-0 run late in the third, turning a 16-16 tie into a 21-16 lead. Junior setter Emily Tulino had consecutive aces during that surge, and Day then had two more in a row to make it 24-17.
 
After the Falcons went up 15-10 in Set 4, their lead never slipped below three points, the last time at 20-17.
 
 

"We talked before the match about how we wanted to kind of take control and play to the level that we're striving for," Rhine said. "I thought we did that, especially in Sets 3 and 4, just playing the calm, collected, aggressive volleyball we've been pushing for.
 
"That made a difference, and were able to push ahead in each of those sets, which was super-fun to see"
 
BY THE NUMBERS
--Thanks to solid hitting in Sets 2 and 4, the Falcons wound at .212 for the night. They were at just .102 in the first and .140 in the third, but came through at .407 in the second (13 kills-2 errors-27 attacks) and .312 in the fourth (15-5-32)
-- Fairbanks finished the night at .176, including just .069 (5-3-29) in the third.
-- Setters Emily Tulino and Sophia Chambers both double-doubled again: 20 assists / 15 digs for Tulino; 18 assists / 10 digs for Chambers. It was the sixth of the season for Tulino, the fifth for Chambers, and the fourth time they've done it on the same night. Tulino also had four aces.
-- Senior middle blocker / opposite Erin Smith added 10 kills on .231 hitting. She pushed past 300 kills for her career, now with .302.
 

-- Freshman libero Christina Lopez had 12 digs, her first time in double digits.
-- Allison Wilks had no kills and just two attacks in the opening set, then went 9-0-14 the rest of the way. It was her fourth .500-plus hitting performance of the season.
-- This was SPU's first victory in Alaska since a 3-1 decision at Fairbanks on Nov. 21, 2019. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons conclude their annual Alaska trip on Saturday when they take on Anchorage at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.


NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023
The Patty Center / Fairbanks, Alaska
 
Seattle Pacific 3, Alaska Fairbanks 1
 
Game scores – 24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 25-18.
 
Service aces – SPU 17 (Day 7, Tulno 4), UAF 9 (Nielson 3)..
Kills – SPU 55 (Brachvogel 17), UAF 40 (3 players with 8).
Assists – SPU 49 (Tulino 20, Chambers 18), UAF 39 (Henderson 20).
Digs – SPU 64 (Tulino 15, Lopez 12, Cunningham 10, Chambers 10), UAF 60 (Erickson 22).
Block assists / solo – SPU 14 / 1 solo (Hair 4 / 0 solo, Wilks 3 / 1 solo), UAF 22 / 1 solo (Head 7 / 1 solo)..
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – SPU 55-23-151—212 (Wilks 9-0-16—562), UAF 40-17-131—176 (Jansen 3-0-11—273).
Attendance – 298.
 
 
Records
Seattle Pacific 11-2, 5-0 GNAC.  Alaska Fairbanks 7-11, 0-4 GNAC..
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage
Saturday, 8:00 p.m. PDT
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska